In the fall, Irish fans were ecstatic to learn College GameDay was coming to Notre Dame for the Stanford game. We learned this just hours after our Shamrock Series win over Miami in Chicago, and it only fueled our celebration. For six days, it fed into our hype and excitement surrounding the Stanford game.

We knew College GameDay was coming to see Notre Dame play Louisville for months ahead of time; there was no surprise announcement. But Notre Dame was not any less excited for this appearance, especially because it makes us one of only SIX schools to host the program for both football and men’s basketball in the same year.

With so much time to anticipate the event, I wanted to find out what sort of heavy-duty preparation goes into the hoops version of College GameDay. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people put in a lot of hours to put this show on.

Many offices within Notre Dame athletics have to collaborate with each other and ESPN to make College GameDay a success. These offices include Media Relations, Fighting Irish Digital Media, Marketing and Ticketing. ESPN spends the week filming segments with the coach, feature players, and campus color. Finally, there comes the element of student involvement, and Notre Dame depends on the help of the Leprechaun Legion for that. The Legion planned and heavily promoted an elaborate JACC Campout so that students could be there for filming right when it began this morning.

GameDay might have already aired this morning, but next comes what we’ve all been waiting for–the game itself. ESPN and Notre Dame will be working right up to the game to make sure everyone can experience the atmosphere that is Irish basketball.

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